Sydney Kings owner Paul Smith has thanked Sydneysiders for embracing the team and helping them secure their second straight NBL championship.
Smith bought the team five years ago during a period in which the Kings frequently sat at the bottom of the ladder and didn’t draw the record-breaking crowds they have enjoyed this NBL season.
Smith said his vision for the team when he bought it was to become a cultural icon in the community and he said it’s incredibly satisfying to see that dream become a reality.
“It’s humbling,” Smith admitted on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“What we set out to do when I bought the club five years ago was to change the paradigm because we couldn’t keep doing the same thing.
“We knew we had to invest in playing talent and coaching talent.
“We also had to invest in creating something that people could connect to because Sydney is a unique market. It’s not Melbourne or any other markets.
“You have to talk to Sydney in a way that Sydney likes to be talked to.
“We are winning on the court but we have also created fandom.
“We are grateful for what we have done and grateful to Sydney for what they have done for us.”
The Kings have featured in three of the past four finals series and only lost in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic shutting down the series early.
The Kings also farewelled league MVP Xavier Cooks who will join the Washington Wizards in the NBA immediately. Smith said the back-to-back titles would not be possible without Cooks.
“He is just unbelievable,” Smith added.
“We’ve now won two (titles) with Xavier being very much a part of it and in the last two seasons he has been our captain.
“We are just so incredibly grateful to Xavier as he is such a fine person, very humble and incredibly talented.
“He desperately wanted to go out as a back-to-back champion.
“Some of the rhetoric during this championship series was offensive.
“Some pundits, and I won’t call them journalists, were speculating that Xavier had taken his foot off the gas.
“It was just complete junk.
“He pumped through it and he never gave up (and) he’ll always be remembered for being a fine person and a great player.”